With the Lionesses' No.1 to depart and worrying news coming out of Carrington, a rough season for the Red Devils is only continuing into the summer
Twelve months ago, it looked like Manchester United had grabbed themselves a seat at the top table of English football for the foreseeable future. In just their fourth season in the Women’s Super League, the Red Devils pushed Chelsea all the way in the title race and reached a maiden FA Cup final. But in the time since, despite clinching a first major title at Wembley last month, there has been cause for concern.
Their on-field struggles have been difficult to ignore. Last season, United recorded a worst-ever WSL finish of fifth, winning just 10 of their 22 matches to end up some 20 points adrift of eventual champions Chelsea. An FA Cup triumph softened the blow but, in the words of striker Rachel Williams, did “mask over issues”. It meant there were plenty of questions asked when the club opted to renew the expiring contract of head coach Marc Skinner.
Now, there are more and more off-pitch situations that are adding to the frustrations of a fanbase ravenous for the success that Man Utd are associated with. As Lionesses star Mary Earps prepares to depart on a free transfer and news emerges that the women’s team have been temporarily moved into a portable facility to accommodate the men’s side, the Red Devils are never going to be among the elite in the women’s game if things carry on like this.
GettyWarning signs
Despite the success of the 2022-23 season, there were a couple of warning signs off the pitch for Man Utd, most notably the departure of Alessia Russo. While it felt like there was little the club could do to stop star full-back Ona Batlle rejoining childhood club Barcelona on a free in the same summer, the England striker was supposedly open to staying.
However, United’s negotiating has become infamous by this point. Talks are often slow and the offers presented to players can be underwhelming. This was the case for Russo, with even reporting that the club went back on some conditions they’d shaken hands on previously. She would instead join WSL rivals Arsenal on a free transfer.
AdvertisementGettyNo lessons learned
Things have hardly improved in that sense over the past year. United ended the 2023-24 season with no fewer than five key senior players still yet to agree new contracts, despite their current deals expiring this summer. Those players are Earps, captain Katie Zelem, the prolific Nikita Parris, fan favourite Lucia Garcia and super-sub Rachel Williams.
Earps’ situation has been under the microscope most, given her profile and the fact that Arsenal were heavily interested last summer. Despite some thinking that could be a catalyst for United to sort a new deal for the Lionesses’ No.1, negotiations have dragged on. It’s hardly a good look when it takes this long to come to a resolution – not least when that resolution is a departure for the England star, who is set to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
Getty ImagesLacking clarity
It seems unlikely that Earps will be the only player to leave. Garcia is in line for a move to Mexico’s exciting Liga MX Femenil, just a month on from her match-winning display in the Women’s FA Cup final. It’s fair to say fans are not happy about that.
After captaining the club for the past five years, Zelem is attracting interest from elsewhere and the same goes for Parris, who showed her commitment to the cause when she decided against a move to the U.S. ahead of the FA Cup final. Despite that, she is still set to become a free agent in the coming days.
Even a standard released and retained list has yet to come from Man Utd, some five weeks after the season ended. It means that there will be no real goodbye to the supporters for those who do depart, which is just another factor in the feverous frustration building within the fanbase.
Getty ImagesA worrying admission
That was all heightened this week in an interview given by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of Man Utd’s minority owners, INEOS. Ratcliffe spoke at length about the Red Devils’ men’s team with and when asked about plans for the women’s side, he responded: “We haven’t gone into that level of detail yet. We’ve been pretty much focused on how we resolve the first-team issues, in that environment, and that’s been pretty full-time for the first six months.”
The use of the term ‘first team’ to describe the men’s side hasn’t sat right with many, with both the men and the women having a ‘first team’. While that could just be a poor choice of words in the moment, the fact that it came at the same time as Ratcliffe admitting there’s not a detailed plan in place for the women’s side has been a bitter pill to swallow for many.
